Landplane/Grader and HP Questions

[dmacdaddy]

Hello TBN crew! I've been lurking for awhile and I need to get out of the shadows and get some help I'm planning on a new tractor ASAP and my challenge is, as most, what size tractor to purchase. I have 5 acres but, live on the family farm that is 100 acres. My short term plans for the tractor would primarily to maintain our gravel road and some grass/weed mowing (bush hog or Flail). I may use the tractor time and again to help with snow removal yet, I have a Polaris Ranger 800 with a 6' blade that has worked great so far. The challenge is, we live at 5500 feet in elevation and we live up on a hill. Road is small gravel and road base mix to provide traction up to the house in the winter.

So, the gravel road to our home is about 400 yards in total, front and back drive. The front drive is about 100 yards but at about a 40-45 degree slope. The back drive is longer and not so steep.

1. What HP tractor is necessary to be able to effectively landplane/grade this? I've been back and forth on if a 35 HP is enough or do I need to go to 40-45 HP? It seems that it's about 10 grand difference to move from 35-45 hp and I just don't want to be under powered and yet still like the idea of a smaller tractor and more money to go to other implements.

2. What size landplane/grader would you recommend for the size of tractor? If 35 hp is enough, would 6' be too big?

Most of the other chores are not as hp dependent, I don't think. Sorry if this is longwinded, and I'd be happy to answer more questions if I'm not clear.
Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[bcp]

Welcome to TBN.

Please post photos of your 45 degree driveway.



Bruce

 

[jenkinsph]

Just assuming the drive is steep I would suggest you get a smaller land plane to match to the 35 hp tractor. A 5ft is what I would suggest, and you may struggle with it at times. In almost all cases you will need to drag the gravel up the hill to get it back in place. So a box blade may be required in addition to the land plane. You may be able to use your fel to move the materials back up the hill too.

If you do go ahead with a 45 hp tractor I would still stay with a 5' land plane and it will handle it with less strain. Also I would not recommend driving down the hill with either tool as you won't have any material left at the top.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Yes, please post pictures of your driveway.

I have a 5000lb 32 HP turbo 4x4 HST tractor and pull a 5' wide 800lb LPGS. It works great. I would not want to pull a 6' wide unit that was as heavy, a lighter unit would probably be fine though, just would not work as well. Weight is king when it comes to grading.

With your elevation, you really need to find a tractor that has a turbo, other wise you will be loosing over 15% of your power with a naturally aspirated engine at your elevation.

What dealers do you have within a comfortable driving distance? Your $10K price jump sounds way off, should be $3-4K difference. Were you looking at economy 35hp models and deluxe cab 45hp units?

Let us know so that we can better help you.

 

[pwright]

With your elevation, you really need to find a tractor that has a turbo, other wise you will be loosing over 15% of your power with a naturally aspirated engine at your elevation.

Dang. Now I'm looking at my little CT225 and thinking I need to find a turbo kit for it. I'm at 5600 feet.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Dang. Now I'm looking at my little CT225 and thinking I need to find a turbo kit for it. I'm at 5600 feet.

You're loosing almost 4 HP. Just think how it would run with the HP it's suppose to have. :thumbsup: Most people get by though. I know that I talked my brother out of a non turbo engine, he was living at 10,000 ft at the time. If I remember correctly, he had been considering a Kioti CK30.

 

[LD1]

Yes, please post pics of this 45 degree drive. That would be just about impossible to walk, let alone drive anything up and down.

As to tractors, think in terms of weight instead of HP. Heavier is going to pull more. HP is not gonna be the limiting factor

 

[tman1020]

Dang. Now I'm looking at my little CT225 and thinking I need to find a turbo kit for it. I'm at 5600 feet.

If you find one posted up here I want to check it out

 

[tman1020]

Yes, please post pictures of your driveway.
I have a 5000lb 32 HP turbo 4x4 HST tractor and pull a 5' wide 800lb LPGS. It works great. I would not want to pull a 6' wide unit that was as heavy, a lighter unit would probably be fine though, just would not work as well. Weight is king when it comes to grading. With your elevation, you really need to find a tractor that has a turbo, other wise you will be loosing over 15% of your power with a naturally aspirated engine at your elevation. What dealers do you have within a comfortable driving distance? Your $10K price jump sounds way off, should be $3-4K difference. Were you looking at economy 35hp models and deluxe cab 45hp units? Let us know so that we can better help you.

I don't see a hydraulic top link on any of those pictures I'm disappointed.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I don't see a hydraulic top link on any of those pictures I'm disappointed.

Those pictures are when I very first got that tractor, only a single rear remote was available on those models, still that way with the smaller 38hp and down Mahindras. I installed a 2 spool valve and used that for a couple of years and then needed 4 sets of remotes so went with 3 diverters. Controlled by the single OEM valve. Fairly clean installation I think. :thumbsup:

 

[dmacdaddy]

Please post photos of your 45 degree driveway.


Tough crowd :laughing: :laughing: Thanks so much for all the responses so far. True...I've always disliked math and 45 degree was a bit much. I do feel it is around 30 though. Apologies for the embellishment.

No doubt, it is a bit steep and the fact remains that it looks like a smaller attachment is in order. As far as tractors are concerned, I was looking at a used Kioti CK3510 that is running about $17,000. I was also looking to something bigger like a Kubota L4701 and they are around $27,000. Any thoughts about if I can pull a 5' landplane up steeper grades with a 35 HP machine? Any recommendations on other tractors that might work? I have Kubota, Kioti, JD, and Mahindra dealers somewhat close.

Thanks again!

 

[LD1]

Anything will work. Have to match the implement to the tractor, and the tractor to the terrain/land.

Even 30 degrees is alot more than what you probably have. Any pictures? 30 degrees is still about 6' of rise for 10' of run. Or about a 60 % slope.

Things start getting harry at 20 defrees for most tractors.

 

[zzvyb6]

I would not worry about power so much as getting 4wd to keep you from sliding downhill if you run that direction. And, I would buy a blade or a plane or a landscape rake that's wider than the tractor. I use an 8' rake, and mine, angled out to 45 degrees is still wider than the rear wheels. You'll have plenty of gears to choose the power level it takes to run up the hill.

When my driveway is wet, I often use my rototiller in the driveway to loosen it up and repair the gravel conditions. Then I rake it and crown the center.

 

[jenkinsph]

I agree that tractor weight is more of a consideration than horsepower within reason. I agree that it will leave a better finish if the implement is wider than the tractor tire width. Unlike a box blade it isn't necessary for the land plane to be wider than the tractor tires to work. The skids control the smoothing and averaging of the drive and the tractor is simply a method to pull it.

 

[tman1020]

Those pictures are when I very first got that tractor, only a single rear remote was available on those models, still that way with the smaller 38hp and down Mahindras. I installed a 2 spool valve and used that for a couple of years and then needed 4 sets of remotes so went with 3 diverters. Controlled by the single OEM valve. Fairly clean installation I think. :thumbsup:

Much better.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I have a hilly drive. It is hard to get a good picture of steepness. This is much steeper than it looks. Approaching 10%



I grade this with a 30 hp tractor and a 5' landplane w/o any trouble. Traction not hp is the key as said before so you want a heavy tractor. I probably make 3 or 4 passes up hill for each one down. As Steve said you want to move the gravel up to offset nature moving it down.

gg

 

[crazyal]

Traction will be your biggest problem, not HP. Your first pull will not be bad because the gravel will be well packed but as you loosen it up you are going to struggle to pull the GS up the drive. You will want to pull the gravel back up too. Rain and gravity will have no problems bring it down the hill. Your job will be to bring it back up. A GS will drag gravel back up the hill, not as much as a box blade though. You're going to want ag tires to get the best traction possible. You will also get use to the rear diff lock.

 

[Fallon]

My 32hp 3,500lbs Kubota L3200 pulls a 72" box blade pretty well & does a great job maintaining my driveway. I've been collecting parts to build my own LPGS here at some point. It will probably only be 60" wide though. I doubt my tractor would pull much more well.

If driveway maintenance is going to be your biggest task, I'd go with a smaller tractor & smaller ompliment. Just make a couple of passes & save some money on the tractor & impliment.

 

[wcampbell47]

Can't speak to the elevation issue or grade issue of the drive. I pulled a 5 foot grader with a 32hp successfully. I traded for a 37hp little larger tractor which handles the grader much better. I can still load the grader up with loose material to the point the tractor will spin out. When working with loose material I will usually load the bucket on the FEL to make the front wheel drive have more traction.

 

[Helitech]

I have a 14% grade that would choke down my little 1030 MF with a 5 foot box blade. No problem with the 5520 Branson and a 6 foot land plane.